Avesta Sheffield loss hits British Steel share price

Fresh fears for British Steel prompted another fall in the share price last week. The negative sentiment was prompted by an unexpectedly large nine-month loss at Anglo-Swedish steelmaker Avesta Sheffield, which is 51% owned by the British group. Avesta Sheffield’s loss of SKr1.04bn (£80.2m) was well above the SKr905m analysts had been expecting. The main […]

Fresh fears for British Steel prompted another fall in the share price last week.

The negative sentiment was prompted by an unexpectedly large nine-month loss at Anglo-Swedish steelmaker Avesta Sheffield, which is 51% owned by the British group.

Avesta Sheffield’s loss of SKr1.04bn (£80.2m) was well above the SKr905m analysts had been expecting.

The main reason for the shortfall was the SKr570m cost of closing Avesta Sheffield’s melt shop in the US and job cuts as the company continued to implement cost reduction measures around the world.

Avesta Sheffield has slashed 1,400 jobs from the workforce in the past year.

Chief executive Stuart Pettifor insisted that steel prices were showing signs of recovery, however, and said order intake since the beginning of the year continued to be strong.

‘I am positive about demand in both the long and short-term,’ Pettifor added, claiming that he could now see light at the end of the tunnel for depressed steel prices.

‘This has been the worst we have seen for several years. But in the first quarter of this year we will probably see a marginal upturn in prices.’